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Trends, growth and ambition. How strong is the freelancer market?

It is now a known fact that the group of freelancers, flex workers and self-employed people is growing. But what does this group look like in figures compared to last year, what are the trends and how strong do you have to be as a freelancer to be able to cope with all changes and movements in the labor market? Young people with their own business Whether rightly or wrongly fueled by the idea that you can run your own business from anywhere in the world, around 200,000 people start their own business every year. Newly graduated young people in particular are storming the market, hoping to develop a successful career with their own company. At the end of 2015, the counter indicated almost 1.8 million private companies, a growth of almost 400,000 compared to the five previous years. In addition to young people, women are also responsible for this growth. With a growth of more than 3% in the past five years, women are increasingly taking matters into their own hands and deciding to start their own business. On January 1, 2016, the Netherlands had 519,613 female entrepreneurs, of which approximately 40% do this on a part-time basis. Many older self-employed people continue with their business even after the age of 65. Often because entrepreneurship is deep in the capillaries and sitting still or stopping is not an option for these entrepreneurs, sometimes it is a forced solution because good follow-up is difficult or impossible to find. Favorite industry Business services are an absolute favorite among self-employed entrepreneurs, the percentage is around 70%. This includes skills as a graphic designer, designing and building websites, programmers and web shops. Freelance copywriters and coaches also score high on the favorites list of self-employed people. A small portion of the self-employed market becomes their own entrepreneur in the form of a physical company such as a courier or handyman company. There is work to be done for the freelancer. Despite the rising figures on the number of starting entrepreneurs, self-employment is not always a bed of roses. After a flying start and wonderful ideas, orders will also have to be received and acquisitions will have to be made. And if you want to keep up with the pace of entrepreneurship - and if you take yourself seriously as a freelancer or self-employed person - you will have to regularly adjust your business plan and shift boundaries. To keep your head above water as a Freelancer in the fluctuating market of supply and demand, collaboration is crucial, both with 'like-minded people' and with Freelancers who work in a completely different field. Collaboration is important as a backup in the event of illness or a temporary peak in work, but it is also an opportunity to reach a broader market or serve larger customers. This collaboration creates a bond, the 'favor factor' arises, which means that each other is called upon more often. Networking is actually the basis of collaboration and should be one of the basic 'tools' of the Freelancer. Unfortunately, many self-employed people live anxiously on an island, only make contacts via Linkedin and sometimes seem allergic to collaboration. Afraid that others will run away with the idea or the hard-won customer, they prefer to soldier on themselves. Networking and collaboration However, networking and collaboration is vital and provides greater brand awareness and an opportunity to share knowledge about the industry, the activities and self-employment. Wanting to arrange everything yourself and constantly reinventing the wheel often results in a vicious circle in which entrepreneurship begins to play a prominent role 24/7 and the entrepreneur ultimately has to stop his work, burnt out and exhausted. For many entrepreneurs, it is important to pay attention to generating sufficient income, making adjustments and ensuring sufficient acquisition to keep everything running. This is not always possible, as a result of which the income remains too low, people fall back on family or friends or they stop entrepreneurship. About 20% quit within a year and 40% gave up self-employment within four years and tried to get employed again. Sometimes the business was also continued part-time. It is therefore expected that part-time self-employment will continue to show an upward trend in the coming years.

By: Mirjam Polman http://www.virtueelsupport.nl/

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